London: Rishi Sunak As British Prime Minister and nationalist leader conservative Party Uncertainty remains as voting centers open across the country UK On Thursday with the British Indian leader and the man who wants his job – Keir Starmer – along with millions of people across the country turned out early in the morning to cast their votes. Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy walked hand-in-hand to their local polling station on a sunny day in his constituency of Richmond and Northallerton in Yorkshire, northern England. A short while later, Starmer and his wife Victoria were at their polling station in Camden, north London, wearing the Labour Party’s red uniform.
As is customary, there is no campaigning or party political campaigning during voting in Britain.
Sunak, 44, is facing voter anger at the incumbent Tories after 14 years in power and has faced falling far behind the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer, 61, during the six-week campaign.
Both leaders ended their election speeches with contrasting messages – Sunak urging voters not to give the “tax-raising” Labour Party an “overwhelming majority”, and Starmer playing down the prospect of a landslide victory for fear of the impact a low turnout would have on the final result.
Candidates are being fielded for 650 constituencies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with 326 votes required for a majority under the first-past-the-post system.
In addition to the two main parties, voters will contest from the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), the SDLP, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Fein, Plaid Cymru, the anti-immigration Reform Party and a number of independents.
Around 40,000 polling stations opened across the country at 7 a.m. local time, and some 46 million registered voters went to the polls to mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a ballot paper.
From this year, it has become mandatory to carry ID cards to the polling booth in UK elections, which are open to all registered adult voters living in the UK, including Indians as Commonwealth citizens. Many voters have already cast their votes through postal ballots, which can also be handed over to their local councils pending the result.
Once the votes are cast the polling stations officially close at 10 p.m. time local time, the focus soon shifts to the decisive exit polls, which give a fair snapshot of what is going to happen across the UK. Counting of votes begins immediately across the country, and the first results are expected just before midnight local time.
“Stop a Labour majority” is the key message British Prime Minister Sunak was trying to get across as he concluded his campaign, with most incumbent Conservatives conceding defeat in the general election.
“The Labour Party will raise your taxes. Again and again,” Sunak posted on social media as a message to end his campaign.
The strategy of the British Indian leader and his team was to woo his traditional voters in the final hours to reduce the margin of defeat that was widely expected after the clear Tory majorities in the last three general elections. The opposition called it a tactic to scare Tory voters to force them into action so that the Labour majority could be maintained, which was the highest in 1997 when the Labour Party led by former Prime Minister Tony Blair won 179 seats.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party was keen to push the message of its victory aside and fight against any complacency among its activists and voter base.
Starmer warned that the work is not yet done.
Poll experts have anticipated a low turnout, down from 67 per cent at the last general election in December 2019, when Johnson won a solid majority on his message of getting Brexit done.
If opinion polls are to be believed, the incumbent Tories are expected to win between 53 and 150 seats, while Labour is predicted to win a landslide victory. This would see Starmer become prime minister, the first Labour leader to enter 10 Downing Street since 2010, after Gordon Brown.
The last general election was held in December 2019, with Boris Johnson winning 365 seats, giving him a majority of 80. Labour won 202 seats, the Scottish National Party (SNP) 48, the Liberal Democrats 11, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) eight, Sinn Féin seven, Plaid Cymru four, the SDLP two, the Alliance Party one and the Greens one.
Britain’s general election cycle is five years and Sunak had until January 2025 to call a vote, but in May he opted for a surprise summer election by setting a date for July 4.
It is the first time he is seeking a mandate from voters, having been elected Tory leader and Britain’s first prime minister of Indian heritage by the party membership following political upheaval in October 2022. It is also the first test at the ballot box for Starmer, who took over from Jeremy Corbyn after Labour’s defeat in 2019.
As is customary, there is no campaigning or party political campaigning during voting in Britain.
Sunak, 44, is facing voter anger at the incumbent Tories after 14 years in power and has faced falling far behind the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer, 61, during the six-week campaign.
Both leaders ended their election speeches with contrasting messages – Sunak urging voters not to give the “tax-raising” Labour Party an “overwhelming majority”, and Starmer playing down the prospect of a landslide victory for fear of the impact a low turnout would have on the final result.
Candidates are being fielded for 650 constituencies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with 326 votes required for a majority under the first-past-the-post system.
In addition to the two main parties, voters will contest from the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), the SDLP, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Fein, Plaid Cymru, the anti-immigration Reform Party and a number of independents.
Around 40,000 polling stations opened across the country at 7 a.m. local time, and some 46 million registered voters went to the polls to mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a ballot paper.
From this year, it has become mandatory to carry ID cards to the polling booth in UK elections, which are open to all registered adult voters living in the UK, including Indians as Commonwealth citizens. Many voters have already cast their votes through postal ballots, which can also be handed over to their local councils pending the result.
Once the votes are cast the polling stations officially close at 10 p.m. time local time, the focus soon shifts to the decisive exit polls, which give a fair snapshot of what is going to happen across the UK. Counting of votes begins immediately across the country, and the first results are expected just before midnight local time.
“Stop a Labour majority” is the key message British Prime Minister Sunak was trying to get across as he concluded his campaign, with most incumbent Conservatives conceding defeat in the general election.
“The Labour Party will raise your taxes. Again and again,” Sunak posted on social media as a message to end his campaign.
The strategy of the British Indian leader and his team was to woo his traditional voters in the final hours to reduce the margin of defeat that was widely expected after the clear Tory majorities in the last three general elections. The opposition called it a tactic to scare Tory voters to force them into action so that the Labour majority could be maintained, which was the highest in 1997 when the Labour Party led by former Prime Minister Tony Blair won 179 seats.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party was keen to push the message of its victory aside and fight against any complacency among its activists and voter base.
Starmer warned that the work is not yet done.
Poll experts have anticipated a low turnout, down from 67 per cent at the last general election in December 2019, when Johnson won a solid majority on his message of getting Brexit done.
If opinion polls are to be believed, the incumbent Tories are expected to win between 53 and 150 seats, while Labour is predicted to win a landslide victory. This would see Starmer become prime minister, the first Labour leader to enter 10 Downing Street since 2010, after Gordon Brown.
The last general election was held in December 2019, with Boris Johnson winning 365 seats, giving him a majority of 80. Labour won 202 seats, the Scottish National Party (SNP) 48, the Liberal Democrats 11, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) eight, Sinn Féin seven, Plaid Cymru four, the SDLP two, the Alliance Party one and the Greens one.
Britain’s general election cycle is five years and Sunak had until January 2025 to call a vote, but in May he opted for a surprise summer election by setting a date for July 4.
It is the first time he is seeking a mandate from voters, having been elected Tory leader and Britain’s first prime minister of Indian heritage by the party membership following political upheaval in October 2022. It is also the first test at the ballot box for Starmer, who took over from Jeremy Corbyn after Labour’s defeat in 2019.
